So I might seem a little rusty with Nalia in this chapter. Since I took a long hiatus from this book.(on wattpad)đ
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*At the palace, Chen announces the competitors for the next match.*
"Skylor, Master of Amber, versus Jacob, Master of Sound. Fight! Fight!" Chen announced for everyone.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a Jadeblade by its toe!" said Skylor as the two started fighting.
"Master of Sound's gotten stronger since the last time I saw him." said Garmadon.
"Not to mention his music, I've heard some of them." said Nalia, seeming in a better much.
"I didn't know he made his own music, but I guess that would make sense since he is the master of sound." said Lloyd, a little surprised.
"Oh, he isn't that well-known, he only released a very few which are very hard to find." Nalia explained.
"And how do you know all that?" Jay asked.
Nalia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Even though I'm a singer, I do listen to a lot of music. Both old and new, so I by chance found some of his music when taking some dance and singing lessons. Not to mention, I did have to fight him here at the start when I was chasing him down."
Lloyd and Jay looked at each other, both surprised and confused about how she had time for all of that when busy with her job as a singer.
"I guess this is what happens when you leave her alone on a tour for months." Jay whispered to Lloyd.
Lloyd nodded in agreement to Jay but didn't say anything out loud.
Kai finds his way to the arena. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Uh, don't mean to block your view. Just passing through. Sorry, all of these temples look the same. Did I miss anything?"
"Ugh. But the looks of it, you didn't miss much." Jay points to everyone he upset. "Maybe we shouldn't be sitting together. I mean, the more they think we're a team, the bigger targets we put on ourselves. Except Nalia, somehow."
Nalia just shrugged at this, not really understanding why she wasn't much of a target. While the others had a feeling, it was because she was a famous singer, which didn't seem all that fair.
"Don't say that, we are a team. Sure, we just lost Cole and still can't find Zane, but we're a team. Just smaller. All the more reason to stick together." said Lloyd.
"Lloydie is right, we can't stay down forever. We need to stay positive and together." said Nalia.
"But you were all upset last time when Cole and I were fighting." Jay pointed out.
"Which I still am, but I try not to let it affect me." said Nalia with a smile.
"I still can't get over how she can quickly change her mood from rage to sadness to then, all cheerful." Jay whispered to Lloyd, who just nodded.
"Skylor's fighting?" Kai asked.
"What has him so excited?" Garmadon asked.
"He had a crush on her until he found out they might be related." Jay explained.
"Her element isn't Fire. She's the Master of Amber, power of absorption. She can emulate the power of anyone she's touched." Garmadon told them.
"Oh, that makes more sense..... I think." said Nalia.
Kai perks up. "You're telling me we're not related?!"
"Oh, boy. Here we go again." Jay sighs.
"What's happening again?" Nalia asked confused.
Jay and Lloyd facepalmed at this, it always feels like she takes one step forward and two steps back.
"Don't worry about it, Lia." said Lloyd with a sigh.
Nalia looked at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she said something wrong.
Skylor was able to confuse Jacob and grab the Jadeblade. Everyone cheers for her.
"Yes! Go, Skylor!" Kai cheered.
"Winner! And loser." Chen opens a trapdoor for Jacob. "I hope the Tournament of Elements has entertained you as much as it has me. To thank you, I wanted to give everyone fancy jewels and untold shiny things." He pulls out a box of jewels. "But then in yesterday's battle, Master Jay and Cole tried to undermine me by teaming up and refusing to fight each other. And that made me very upset. For their insubordination, all of your fancy quarters will be taken away, and tonight everyone must sleep together in the chow house! That is all. Thank you, you can go."
"Nice one, Jay!" Kai complained in annoyance at him.
"Whoa, easy, Romeo." said Jay raising his hands in defense.
"Please don't start fighting, you two." said Nalia, getting pretty tired of this.
"Don't worry about them. We aren't here to make friends, just to save ours." said Lloyd.
"What?" Nalia turned to Lloyd with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, but your exclusion of others has only made enemies. Beware how you treat those around you, for they will treat you the same." said Garmadon, glancing over at Nalia.
"I know we aren't close with the others, but I agree with Garmadon. We shouldn't exclude the others." said Nalia.
"Lia, I think being on that tour has made you lose focus on what is more important right now." said Kai.
Nalia narrowed her eyes at him. "What's important is to help everyone. I only came to this place. Hoping to see you all again, and after knowing Zane is here. I wanna save him and the rest." She said and followed after the other masters.
The ninjas looked at each other as they watched Nalia walking on ahead.
"Guys, I know we are under a lot of stress after losing Cole and needing to find Zane. But the last thing we need is us separating from each other." said Lloyd, looking at Kai and Jay.
"Lloyd is right, we need to stick together, and Lia just reunited with us again. After being on such a long tour, so seeing us like this is only gonna upset her." said Jay with a sigh. "Last thing we want is to ruin Lloyd and Lia getting together."
"J-Jay! That isn't what's important right now." said Lloyd, his face slowly turning red.
Kai chuckled and wrapped an arm over Lloyd's shoulders as they began heading to the chow house. "No, Lloyd, he is right. So don't think we haven't noticed you two getting all close and cuddly with each other."
Jay let out a heavy sigh. "If only Lia would figure out sooner what her feelings were for you, the less you two would have to keep dancing around your relationship."
"Guys, seriously! Would you two drop it!" Lloyd's face had turned all red at this point. "I don't wanna push her with it, as it might just ruin things.... So I'm willing to wait until she has an answer."
The ninja entered the chow house and already saw the others finding their beds, which didn't look like much, let alone comfortable.
They found Nalia getting herself ready for bed while making sure she was lying comfortably with her scarf.
The ninja decided to take the beds that were close to her, getting themselves comfortable as everyone started falling asleep.
*A few hours later, the ninja woke up.*
"Couldn't sleep either?" Jay asked.
"Not when we still have to get Zane and Cole back." said Kai, before glancing over at Nalia, who somehow was still sleeping peacefully in her bed.
"Speaking of backs, these new beds are the worst. All right, first wake up Lia, after that, let's doâ" said Lloyd but then got cut off by an Anacondrai Cultist banging on a gong and the lights turned on.
"Quick, back in bed." Kai whispered.
"Good morning, fighters. Oh, that's right, it's the middle of the night." said Clouse entering the chow house.
"Huh?" Nalia woke up with a yawn as the cultists put skates on the masters. "What's going on?"
"Hey, what are you doing?" Lloyd asked.
"Do you know what time it is?" Jay asked.
"Roller skates? Whoa, aah!" Kai falls, but Skylor helps him up. "Thanks."
"Let me guess, another one of Chen's impromptu battles?" said Lloyd as he helped Nalia get up while also trying not to fall over himself.
"At this point I wouldn't be surprised." said Nalia with another yawn.
"Oh, roller skates. I love roller skates!" said Jay all excited.
"We should be getting used to this by now." said Lloyd, while trying to keep Nalia awake as she seemed close to falling back asleep. "Lia, now isn't the time for sleeping."
"But it's so late, and I wanna go back to bed." Nalia pouted.
"Did I ever mention I once placed first in the Mother-Son Skate-Off? Hehe. I should have never admitted that." said Jay, with an awkward laugh.
"A what?" Nalia asked, half awake.
"Weirdo." said Mr. Pale.
"Master Chen wants everyone in the Royal Arena. I wouldn't be late if I were you." said Clouse glancing at everyone.
"If most of us have already fought, why are we all in skates?" Skylor asked.
"Only two of you will be fighting, but the rest of you will have a chance to affect the outcome." Clouse explained.
"Who's fighting? Tell us now." Griffin asked.
"The Green Ninja versus the Master of Form." said Clouse as he then leaves.
"Master of Form? Who's that?" Lloyd asked while trying to have Nalia stop trying to fall asleep on him.
"You haven't heard? I hear she can look like anyone. She'd be right under your nose, and by the time you figure it out, she's discovered all your weaknesses, then it's game over. But you're the Green Ninja, what weakness could you have?" said Kai coming over to them.
"Hm?" Nalia glanced over at Kai and raised an eyebrow as she moved a little closer and started sniffing. "Strange."
"W-what do you mean?" Kai asked, slightly taken aback by her sniffing.
"You look like Kai, but you don't smell like him." said Nalia, tilting her head. "Are you his twin by any chance?"
"What?" said Lloyd, glancing at Nalia and then at Kai. "I think you need some more time to wake up, Lia."
"Maybe." said Nalia letting out another yawn.
Kai gave a nervous smile before turning back to Lloyd. "But you don't have any weaknesses, right?"
"Ugh. Aside from the sore back, not many." said Lloyd.
"Thanks." said Kai as he skated away.
"Is your back gonna be alright?" Nalia asked after finding out that it was sore.
"I'll get through it, Lia, so don't worry about it." said Lloyd with a confident smile.
"Whoo-hoo-hoo!" cheered Jay as he was rolling by.
Kai skates up next to him. "Skates."
"Kai?" Lloyd asked, confused.
"Why did it have to be skates?!" Kai falls over on the floor.
"So I was right about him having a twin?" Nalia questioned.
"Watch your back, Green Ninja." Kai reveals himself to be Chamille using Form.
"Oh, that makes a lot more sense." said Nalia.
The ninjas facepalmed at this.
"Lia, have a mango. Hopefully that will wake you up." said Lloyd, throwing her one.
"Oh!" Nalia caught it with a bright smile and took a bite. "Thanks, Lloydie. You're the best."
"Where were you even hiding that mango?" Kai asked.
"And why do you even carry around a mango?" Jay asked.
"It always helps cheer Lia up, and I know she likes them." said Lloyd with a shrug.
Nalia nodded while eating her mango as everyone began heading to the arena.
*The Elemental Masters skate toward the arena.*
"I don't like the look of this." said Lloyd, glancing around them.
"Don't worry, we got your back. Aah! Ugh." Kai falls again.
Nalia hummed softly while skating, finding it easy like when she was using her sand powers to move around.
"Welcome to my favorite event. Thunderblade!" Chen announced, all excited.
"Hey, I know this game. It's just likeâ" said Griffin before getting cut off.
"No, it's not like that! This is my game. I made it up! Fully original. A Jadeblade for you, Lloyd, Master of Power." Chen tosses him a Jadeblade and a green helmet. "And another for Chamille, Master of Form. WhereâWhere are you?" Chamille reveals herself. "Oh, there you are." He tosses her a blade and an orange helmet. "Haha. Rules are simple. Each lap you complete with your blade in possession, a point. Most points before time expires, you win."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about us? Are we supposed to just stand here?" Griffin asked.
"That would be a stupid reason to ruin my sleep, but I'll still come to support Lloyd." said Nalia smiling at him.
"You get to help anyone you wish, or hurt, for that matter. You're free to choose sides. I'm not a dictator." said Chen.
"What?" said Nalia glancing over at Lloyd and then the others. "I can understand fighting each other, but even so. Hurting each other for some stupid game." She narrowed her eyes at Chen, letting out a low growl. "This really pisses me off."
"Lia, you alright?" Lloyd asked, noticing that she hadn't moved from where she was standing.
Nalia took a deep breath to calm herself and turned to Lloyd with a small smile. "Yeah, I just find this very annoying." She skated over and grabbed herself a green helmet.
Everyone but Jay, Nalia and Kai chose to side with Chamille.
"What was that you said about us having targets on our backs?" Lloyd asked, glancing at Jay.
"Don't worry, we're still a teamâ" Kai falls again. "Argh!"
Jay sighs. "I gotta be honest. This doesn't look good."
"Let's just finish this up quickly, and hopefully with no casualties." said Nalia, putting on her glasses.
"Lia, I hope you aren't thinking about using your other powers." Lloyd whispered.
Nalia looked over at him. "No, I'm not that stupid. I'll keep to just using my elemental powers.... But at the moment, I don't think I can control my eyes from glowing."
Everyone takes their position.
"Lloyd, Master of Power, versus Chamille, master of Form. Most laps with their Jadeblade when time runs out wins. Loser is out. Thunderbladers on your mark, get set, good luck to everyone, but mostly Chamille, because we all want the Green Ninja out. Now go!" Chen announced as the two got a head start. "Oh, how about some spectator ambiance?" He presses a button to make the speakers cheer. The others take off.
"It's us against the world, Kai, Lia. If Lloyd has any chance of moving forward in the tournament, it's up to the three of us." said Jay.
"Lloyd's your greatest competition. If he loses today, what's left to stand in your way from winning it all?" said Skylor skating over to Kai.
"I'd never think of it." said Kai.
"Maybe you should." Skylor pushes Kai out of her way, making him fall again, but was saved my Nalia using sand to help him back up.
"Thanks, Lia." said Kai with a smile.
Nalia gave a slight nod, happy to help in any way she could.
Jay sees everyone pushing Lloyd. "We have to give him room."
"And just how are we supposed to do that?" Kai asked.
"I got an idea. Don't touch anyone." said Jay.
"Then who am I supposed to hold on to?" Kai asked.
"I'll help." said Nalia as she used sand to push the others away from Lloyd, giving him more space.
Jay took the chance Nalia had given him and shocks the competitors.
"Thanks." said Lloyd as he picked up the speed.
"Sorry." Kai pushes his way through but accidentally falls on Lloyd. "Use your powers!"
"On roller skates? You crazy?" Lloyd gets up. "I'd never stay on the track!"
"You're supposed to be helping, not hurting his chances." said Jay skating over with Nalia.
"Thanks for the tip, but I can't skate!" Kai shouted at him.
"Don't lose hope, Kai." said Nalia as she took her focus on the others.
"How can I not, when we are so far behind!" Kai exclaimed.
"Let me handle that." Nalia narrowed her eyes and picked up speed, and used her sand to cause some of the other masters to fall over, as their skates had stopped working from being filled with sand. "Sorry!"
"Nalia, watch out!" shouted the guys.
"Huh?" Nalia turned her head just as Tox used her poison at her, acting quickly she made a shield with her sand, but some of the poison landed on one of her skates. Causing her to lose the wheels on them and making her fall. "Aah!"
The guys quickly rushed over to help Nalia back up, as she now only had one rollerskate, making it harder for her to move without falling again.
"You alright, Lia?" Lloyd asked.
"I'll be fine, you go ahead. We can't risk you losing." said Nalia as she pushed him ahead of them.
"Are you sure you're gonna be able to keep going with just one rollerskate, Lia?" Jay asked.
"Just learning how to use two is hard enough, but one is way more difficult." said Kai, while he and Jay helped her stay up by having their arms over her shoulders.
"I'll figure something out, you two should focus on helping Lloyd." said Nalia with a smile.
Kai and Jay looked at each other, a little worried about leaving her like this, but knew that she was right.
"Okay, but if you need help, just let us know." said Kai.
Nalia gave a small nod as the two let go of her and moved on ahead of her.
With a small sigh, Nalia tried keeping her balance on one rollerskate, which was easier said than done.
"This is so annoying, if I wasn't trying to hide my other powers I could be of more help."Â Nalia glanced down at her one working rollerskate, and then towards the other masters that were quickly catching up with her.
Just then, a thought came to Nalia's head as she facepalmed herself with a soft smile. "How could I already forget? This is just like using my sand powers to glide around."
Nalia used her sand powers on both of her rollerskates, and had the sand form around them and make them look like ice skates but made of solid sand, along with forming sand right under them. Making her able to skate and catch up with the others as if she hadn't lost her one skate in the first place.
"Oooh! What a surprising comeback from Miss Starlight! A clever display of the use of her powers!" said Chen, all excited when seeing this.
Garmadon didn't say anything, but slightly narrowed his eyes as he noticed just a small glance of her eyes, behind her glasses was glowing slightly golden when using her powers in this way. Making him worried that Chen, or mostly Clouse would take notice of it too.
"Thunderblade never fails to deliver. Did you know I hold the record with a hundred points? Clouse can attest. Tell him, Clouse." said Chen with a big smile.
"You were born with skates on, Master." said Clouse.
"True story." said Chen.
"True story, hmph. Just like all of his far-fetched endeavors." said Garmadon glancing over at them as he tried not to focus too much on Nalia, as that might catch their attention.
"There was once a time when you were quite comfortable with lying. It worked on Misako, didn't it?" said Clouse.
"Button, button, I love buttons. Aha, let's even the playing field, shall we?" Chen activates a ramp, which Kai falls on.
"Grab my hand! I'll whip ya!" shouted Jay to Lloyd.
Lloyd does so, but it was revealed that it was Chamille impersonating Lloyd.
"Aw, his back is hurting him. Shadow, strike his back." said Chamille, skating next to the master of shadows.
"Wait, where'd the Master of Shadow go?" Jay asked as he couldn't see him anywhere.
Nalia looked around trying to find him until she noticed the elemental aura coming from the shadows. "He's in the shadows!"
Shade comes out of the shadows and hits Lloyd's back, and Mr. Pale grabs his Jadeblade. Jay pushes him and grabs the blade.
"Lloyd!" Nalia quickly skated over and helped him back up.
"You didn't learn that in your Mother-Son Skate-Off, did you?" said Lloyd, looking over at Jay as he got helped up by Nalia, who was worried if he was seriously hurt.
"It's a fierce competition, Lloyd, and this isn't the time to judge. It's the time to skate faster." Jay jumps over Kai and Griffin, who fall. "Haha!" Tox turns around and releases a poison cloud. "Watch out for the poison cloud!" Lloyd, Nalia and Jay skate around it, but Kai goes into it.
"Thanks for the warning." said Kai.
"Sorry, Kai!" shouted Nalia as she was trying to keep her focus on her sand powers without losing control and falling over.
"Release the buggy!" shouted Chen.
"Look out, Lloyd!" Jay and Nalia pushes him out of the path of the Jungle Raider.
Lloyd sees Chamille holding on to the buggy. "She has the lead, and she gets a lift? I know Chen wants me out, but this is getting ridiculous."
"Not only that, but this is pissing me off." said Nalia with a low growl, glaring daggers at Chen as tiny stars appeared behind Chen's chair that Garmadon quickly used one of his hands to knock away and out of sight.
Clouse glanced over at Garmadon with a raised eyebrow, a skeptical look in his eyes, before turning his attention back to the masters.
"Lia, please be careful." said Lloyd, taking notice of the rising anger coming from her.
Nalia glanced over at Lloyd and let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry."
"Sorry, Tox." Jay pushes Tox. "Must be my allergies kicking in."
Griffin and Neuro grab Jay. "Check this out."
"Gotcha. said Neuro as Griffin uses his speed and pushes Jay into Lloyd and Nalia.
"We are so not loved." said Jay.
"I'm starting to feel it now too, it's not fun nor nice." said Nalia as they got back up, her focus still hard on her powers keeping her moving on the sand.
"You're very convincing. In no time, Lloyd will be out." said Skylor skating next to Kai.
"This did wonders for my back, though." said Lloyd with relief as he was able to skate much better now.
"And he'll never suspect." Skylor tried convincing Kai to let Lloyd lose.
"Argh! That's it! I may not be able to skate, but that doesn't mean I can't help." Kai uses his fire to propel himself into Chamille. Jay grabs her Jadeblade. Nalia uses her sand to slow down the others.
"Haha! Nice, Kai! Now you're cooking with fire!" Jay cheered as Chamille chases him. "I got it, you want it! Come and get it! Come and get it!"
"What are you doing? We need Lloyd out." said Skylor.
"We need to stick together. I'm a ninja." said Kai.
"Ugh. That's right. And the rest of us aren't. I should've known better." said Skylor.
"Lloyd's closing the gap, but the clock's against us." said Jay, glancing over at Nalia. "And I don't think Lia can keep using her powers to slow the others down."
"So is everyone else. Garmadon's right. The more we exclude everyone, the more they gang up on us." said Kai.
"What are you saying?" Jay asked.
"I'm saying why don't we tell them about Chen? If others knew what this tournament was really about, maybe they'd help us." said Kai.
"Uh, worth a try, but time's running out, and Lloyd's got a lot of ground to make up." said Jay.
"Jay, give me Chamille's blade!" shouted Nalia, quickly catching up to him.
"Gimme!" Chamille pushes Jay and tries stealing back her blade, but Nalia was took it right before she could. "What the hell!"
"Sorry! But I can't let you win!" shouted Nalia as she began skating the opposite way with the blade.
Chamille screamed as she began chasing after her.
"You guys better work this out fast! I'm not sure how long I can keep her from winning!" shouted Nalia as she was dodging Chamille and using her sand to skate into the air and then back on the ground.
Nalia used her sand to get around fast, avoiding Chamille in any way she could. She was so focused that a few faint symbols appeared on her body.
"Nalia!" shouted Lloyd, catching her attention as she turned to look behind.
"What?" Nalia narrowed her eyes as the symbols on her body disappered. Looking at Lloyd, she noticed his elemental aura wasn't the normal green color it normally was.
"Nalia, give me the blade! Jay said that he would handle Chamille!" said Lloyd, holding out a hand.
"You aren't Lloyd, if you really were, he would hardly ever call me by my full name." said Nalia, not giving this faker the blade.
"And here I thought acting as one of you lovebirds would work." said Lloyd, who changed back to Chamille, who then reached over and was able to grab Nalia by her scarf. Pulling her back in full force and falling to the ground, dropping the blade.
Nalia's eyes widened when her scarf got grabbed, and more so as it got used to pull her to the ground. In a panic she began checking the scarf for any rifts, along with loosening it a bit so it wouldn't strangle her throat. "Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright!"
"Lia!" shouted Lloyd, catching Nalia attention as she looked up with teary eyes.
When looking up, Nalia took notice of the buggy coming right at her. Acting quickly, she made a ramp out of sand so Lloyd went over her.
"Lia, you alright?" Jay and Kai quickly skated over to her with the rest.
The others helped Nalia help her back up and had her lean on Kai and Jay as they kept going.
"Please tell me that my scarf is alright, be honest." said Nalia with teary eyes, scared that Chamille might have ruined it, and if she did. She were gonna be in a lot of trouble.
Kai and Jay glanced at her scarf but couldn't see anything was wrong with it.
"It's all good, Lia, no harm done." said Kai with a smile.
"Yeah, your scarf is very study. If it can handle everything we have been through, surely it will survive this." said Jay.
Nalia let out a heavy relieved sigh after hearing this. "Thanks guys."
They turned their attention back to the race while making sure Nalia wouldn't fall over on the way.
"Cut the green guy some slack." Griffin pushes Tox.
"Buttons, buttons, buttons!" Chen tries to stop Lloyd but couldn't.
"We don't have to keep fighting each other. We can all win." said Lloyd as he was driving next to Chamille.
"All of us?" Chamille asked.
"United." Lloyd reaches out a hand, but Chamille pulls him out of the buggy. "Whoa!"
"Only one can remain." said Chamille.
"Lloyd!" shouted Nalia, worried when seeing him getting pulled out.
"Lloyd might win. Do something!" shouted Chen at Clouse.
Garmadon tackles Clouse before he can use his Magic. He nods to the scorekeeper to change the score.
"Ugh, he's rigging the match. I'll stop him." said Kai.
"Let me." Skylor uses gravity to levitate the scorekeeper. The two fighters cross the finish line, but only Lloyd has the jadeblade.
"She doesn't have her blade!" Jay pointed out as Chamille looks back to see she dropped her Jadeblade.
"Lloyd won!" shouted Kai.
"Yay! I knew you could do it!" Nalia cheered as she pulled him into a tight hug.
Lloyd smiled while trying not to blush from Nalia hugging him.
"Oops, I almost forgot." Skylor drops the scorekeeper, changing Lloyd's score to 106 points.
"Look at that! He broke your record." said Garmadon.
"No, no, no! He cheated! Lloyd loses!" Chen complained.
"No way, Lloyd won fair and square. You were the one who cheated." said Griffin.
"My tournament, my rules." said Chen.
"And just what rules are those? If Lloyd's out, then so am I." said Mr. Pale.
"Me too." said Kai.
"And me three." said Jay.
"Me forth! I will not accept such stupid rules for a fair race." said Nalia narrowing her eyes at him.
"If you kick us all out, what kind of tournament will you have then?" said Skylor.
"Fine, have it your way. Form loses." Chen opens a trapdoor under Chamille. Everyone cheers.
"All right! We won! Yeah!" Jay cheered.
"If what you say is true, you are playing a dangerous game. Chen will find other ways to get you out of the tournament." said Skylor.
"Which is why we'll need all the friends we can get. There's always hope." said Kai.
Nalia just kept on cheering while having a bright smile on her face, happy that they won. But still felt bad for Chamille, knowing what was gonna happen to her.